(Image Credit: Jeremy Levine Design)

Homeowners looking to switch to solar power can skip the expensive installation and instead use their existing electrical outlet. The home solar kit is designed to be placed as a sunshade over a large window that gets a lot of sun, and faces south.

The product, called Sunfish was created by Clarian Technologies. It generates 1,000 watts of power, enough to run a refrigerator. A smaller version generates 200 watts or enough to power lights within a home using energy efficient bulbs.

In 2011, the cost of the 1,000 watt system will be about $4,000, but it was reported that by 2012, that cost could come down to $3,000. Clarian's website says installing the Sunfish requires 6-8 hours, and it weighs 200 pounds.

It is estimated that after four years, the money saved from energy use would cover the cost of the product. After that, it could save several hundred dollars per year.

Another benefit is that having a home solar power system could cause the owners to pay more attention to their energy consumption and reduce it. Energy monitoring and targeting has been studied and observed to reduce consumption by about five percent.

The Sunfish system has a wireless data transmitter so it can send the energy output information to Google Powermeter, which you can view on a Web browser. Google Powermeter is used to analyze energy consumption to look for potential energy reduction, and cost cutting.

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In the past couple of years, food trucks have become popular across the United States, in cities like Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, and San Francisco. You can find nearly every kind of food on them, from typical fare like tacos, to the more exotic like fusion Asian-Mexican cuisine, and even sweet treats like ice cream and cupcakes.

As I have written about on Care2, the local food and sustainable food movements have also been growing.

So, it isn't surprising that some clever entrepreneurs are capitalizing on both trends by bringing farm fresh produce to those in both urban and rural areas. They are calling themselves Mobile Farm Trucks or Mobile Farmers' Markets, and they don't just cater to high-end shoppers, but provide low-income residents with affordable, fresh produce, grown using sustainable and/or organic methods.

For example, in New York City, the Holton Farms Mobile Farm Truck has taken to the streets. Not a mobile farm stand, but a CSA on wheels. As they say on their site, "Our Farm Truck is a progressive mobile farm stand concept, that will operate throughout New York City, to serve as the main distribution point for our CSA Select program and restaurant wholesale clients. The Farm Truck allows us access to neighborhoods throughout the Five Boroughs without having to open a store."

The Farm Truck is run by sustainable farmers who partner with other farms and artisan producers to bring other products to its members including ice cream, cheeses, breads, coffee, grains, and soaps.

They are still working on getting the appropriate permits to sell to non-CSA members and they are also accepting Food Stamps and discounting their prices by 20 percent for low-income New Yorkers. Last year, Maine's Jordan Farm started a Mobile Farm Stand that travels to senior housing sites in South Portland and to Portland and Scarborough businesses. Using a renovated school bus, they offer the same fresh produce that is available at their farm stand in Cape Elizabeth.

Like Holton Farms, Jordan's Farm uses sustainable farming practices, and also brings products from other producers in their area, including eggs, cream, butter, meat, cheese, pasta, honey, and maple syrup.

The Mobile Farm Stand participates in the state's FarmShare program that helps both Maine farmers and provides seniors with needed fresh produce. Maine residents 60 and older who meet income guidelines can get up to 50 dollars of fresh produce free during the growing season. Participating farmers are reimbursed by the state.

In Virginia, The Farm to Family truck makes healthy local food available to people in central Virginia. Using a converted diesel school bus, they provide urban communities with fresh, locally grown produce and other homemade products. As they say on their web site "We grow and source produce within the community, concentrating on quality chemical free products and building relationships with small local growers and producers."

They target areas that don't have access to fresh food and teach people what it is and how to cook it. In order to do this, they also accept food stamps.

Another southern farm on wheels is in Greeneville Tennessee, the Mobile Farmers' Market, is another converted school bus. It is operated by Rural Resources a nonprofit organization dedicated to "promoting family farms and environmentally friendly farming practices."

The Mobile Farmers' Market provides neighborhoods and communities around Greeneville and Greene County with fresh locally produced food via the food stamp ready Mobile Farmers' Market.

Judi Gerber is a University of California Master Gardener with a certificate in Horticultural Therapy. She writes about sustainable farming, local foods, and organic gardening for multiple magazines. Her book Farming in Torrance and the South Bay was released in September 2008.

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• Join a CSA to Go Sustainable This Spring
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At the top of almost every back-to-school supply list is the backpack. It is a convenient and practical way to carry books, pens, pencils, and other required school supplies while keeping hands free. With all the colors and designs available, some even consider the backpack to be a fun fashion accessory.

As helpful and fun as they are, backpacks can also cause pain and injury if not used properly. The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) estimates that about 55 percent of students are carrying backpacks heavier than the recommended guideline, leading to increased backpack-related incidents in recent years.

An Italian study found that the average child carries a backpack that is the equivalent of a 39-pound pack for a 176-pound man, or a 29-pound load for a 132-pound woman. Sixty percent of those children reported back pain.

Health issues caused by backpacks

• Backpacks that are worn improperly or are too heavy for children and teens can cause neck, back, and shoulder pain, as well as problems with muscles and joints.
• Too much weight can force a child to lean backward and attempt to compensate by bending forward at the hips. Backpacks slung over one shoulder can cause leaning to one side. Correct posture becomes difficult.
• Backpacks with narrow straps that dig into the shoulders can interfere with circulation and nerves, potentially contributing tingling, numbness, and weakness of the arms and hands. Red marks on the skin are a clue that the child is carrying too much weight.
• Carrying overloaded backpacks changes the way children walk, causing tripping and increasing the risk of falls.

How to choose a backpack

• Make sure the backpack itself is lightweight.
• Look for two wide, padded shoulder straps. A waist belt may be more stable.
• Multiple compartments will allow the weight of the contents to be distributed more evenly.
• Ergonomically designed backpacks are best.

• The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) recommends limiting the backpack's weight to no more than 10 percent of the child's body weight.
• Try to distribute weight evenly, using all compartments.
• Pack only essential supplies ... leave non-essential items at home or at school.

How to wear a backpack

• Use both shoulder straps.
• Tighten the straps so the pack fits close to the body.
• The backpack should never hang more than four inches below the waistline, says the ACA.

• American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American Chiropractic Association
• American Occupational Therapy Association
• KidsHealth.org
• National Institutes of Health
• National Safety Council

Writer Ann Pietrangelo embraces the concept of personal responsibility for health and wellness. As a person living with multiple sclerosis, she combines a healthy lifestyle and education with modern medicine, and seeks to provide information and support to others. She is a regular contributor to Care2 Causes. Follow on Twitter @AnnPietrangelo.

It used to be there were two kinds of chocolate: chocolate chips and chocolate bars. Then there was dark chocolate and milk chocolate, and soon thereafter white chocolate came into play.

But take a look around at all of the chocolate options touting all manner of "artisanal" qualities, cocoa percentage, and single estate pedigree, and it is easy for a chocolate lover (or just a person wanting to buy a good chocolate bar) to get a bit flustered by all of the possibilities, as well as all of the confusing terminology.

In an effort to do a public service of some sort, I have compiled a short list of, what I have deemed, necessary and helpful definitions related to chocolate and the current chocolate speak:

Antioxidant
Unlike milk chocolate, which has a lower cocoa percentage (we will get to this later), dark chocolate contains high levels of naturally occurring antioxidants originating from the flavanol content in the cacao bean (more on this later as well).

Artisan Chocolate
Artisan chocolates, contrary to what the big chocolate companies would have you believe, are chocolates made by a skilled chocolate artisan in relatively small batches. This is chocolate that is hand crafted and hand mixed by a chocolate maker, and not something that gets spit off of an assembly line.

Baker's Chocolate
This is essentially unsweetened chocolate (no sugar added) made from pure chocolate liquor with 100% cacao content. This chocolate has been traditionally used for baking, hence the name.

Bittersweet Chocolate/ Semisweet Chocolate
This is a sweetened dark chocolate (containing sugar) with the most intense cacao flavor (short of eating straight baker's chocolate). Bittersweet and Semisweet are largely interchangeable terms and usually boast 70% or more cacao content in each bar.

Cacao
This is the origin of all chocolate. The cacao is the name of the tree (as well as the seeds) from which chocolate is derived. Cacao is the same as cocoa. The cocoa (or cacao) content referrers to the percentage of cocoa contained in a single bar of chocolate. A higher cocoa content does not equate with a better chocolate bar, it just means there is just a higher cocoa concentration, and likely less sugar in the bar.

Chocolatier
This is a candy maker who specializes in the creation of chocolate confections. This term could also be used to describe the actual store or business where these confections are sold.

Cocoa
A hot beverage made from cocoa powder, sugar, and most often, milk.

Cocoa Butter
This is the naturally occurring fat present in the cocoa bean. Cocoa beans contain about 50% cocoa butter.

Cocoa Nibs
Also called cacao nibs, these are the kernels of the cocoa bean.

Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate is an eating chocolate that contains anywhere from 35% to 70% cocoa mass (anything more than 70% and you are getting into the bittersweet or baking chocolate territory). In addition to cocoa, dark chocolate also contains cocoa butter, vanilla, and sugar.

Estate-Grown Chocolate
This is simply chocolate that was all grown from a single chocolate plantation, unlike more conventional chocolates that contain beans from all over.

Fair Trade
These are chocolates made with ingredients from farmers who have been paid a higher price for their goods, with the added goals of supporting sustainability and preventing unfair labor practices. There exist several fair trade certifications out there in the chocolate market place, and some critics find this designate to be somewhat confusing, if not misleading, as there is not one accepted standard.

Fudge
This is a type of chocolate confection made with milk and sugar. It is most often extremely rich and significantly sweet.

Lecithin
This is a natural extract from the soybean used to thin out the chocolate mixture in industrial production. This is a common ingredient in conventional chocolate bars.

Milk Chocolate
This is chocolate with a low percentage of cocoa mass (anywhere from 15 to 50%) and has sugar, milk or milk solids added to the cocoa mixture.

Organic Chocolate
Organic chocolate is held to the same standard as all organic foods, and is based upon a system of farming that maintains and replenishes the fertility of the soil and the health of plants, animals and people.

White Chocolate
Despite the name, white chocolate is simply not chocolate (by definition). White chocolate has no cocoa solids, and instead is made from cocoa butter with milk solids, sugar, and some vanilla thrown in for flavor.

Eric Steinman is a freelance writer based in Rhinebeck, N.Y. He regularly writes about food, music, art, architecture and culture and is a regular contributor to Bon Appétit among other publications.

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